


you felt as if you’d just woke up

by outruntheavalanche



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adjusting to Changes, Developing Relationship, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rey Skywalker, Starting Over, changes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-28 14:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14450877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outruntheavalanche/pseuds/outruntheavalanche
Summary: On the morning of his first day as a full-fledged member of the Resistance, Finn wakes up in a tiny, cramped bunker, sandwiched between unfamiliar, sweaty bodies.





	you felt as if you’d just woke up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheKinkAwakens (thekinkawakens)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekinkawakens/gifts).



> Happy May the 4th, [](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/thekinkawakens/profile)[**thekinkawakens**](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/thekinkawakens/)! Hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Thanks to [](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/blastellanos/profile)[**blastellanos**](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/blastellanos/) for the beta!
> 
> Title from "The First Day of My Life," by Bright Eyes.
> 
> Let me know if there are tags I should add!

On the morning of his first day as a full-fledged member of the Resistance, Finn wakes up in a tiny, cramped bunker, sandwiched between unfamiliar, sweaty bodies. He can hardly move but an inch; whenever he turns, he bumps into an arm or a leg or a paw or tentacles. The Resistance bunker actually kind of reminds him of the stormtrooper barracks, an uncomfortable thought that takes much too long for Finn to shake off.

Poe gets his own room because he’s _Commander_ _Poe Dameron_ (again). Rey gets her own room because she’s the general’s beloved niece and the last remnants of her shattered family.

Rose is still asleep in the Resistance medbay.

After Finn shakes off the last dregs of drowsiness, Poe comes to collect him and then they go to visit Rose Tico in the medbay. Rose is still comatose, but Finn takes her hand in his and squeezes it lightly anyway. He’d like to believe that his new friend can still feel and hear him.

(Finn has faint memories of someone singing softly to him when he was in his own coma. They’re wispy, ghostly, like vapor and when Finn reaches out to them they flicker away.)

“You could sing to her,” Poe suggests.

Finn gazes at Rose’s face, slack and disturbingly lifeless, save the faint flickers of her eyelids. “You think she’d be able to hear me?” Finn asks.

Poe shrugs. “I did the same for you when you were out,” he says. “It might help her to hear a familiar voice.”

“I don’t know any songs,” Finn admits, then he frowns. “Well, any songs that aren’t, like, weird ’trooper drinking songs and murder ballads.”

“What girl doesn’t like a good stormtrooper murder ballad?” Poe flashes Finn a toothy grin.

Finn laughs, and then glances back over at Rose. Every time her eyelashes flutter, Finn’s heart clenches in his chest and he can feel hope rising like a wave. Then Rose continues to sleep on, like a figure from an ancient tale, and the disappointment settles heavily over him like a death shroud.

Finally, Finn feels a hand close gently over his shoulder and he glances up. Poe offers Finn a small smile as he pulls his hand away.

“Visiting hours are over, buddy,” he says, sounding almost apologetic.  

Finn nods and gets up, letting go of Rose’s hand. It falls back to her side, limply.

Finn and Poe slip out of Rose’s medbay room and the door slides shut behind them.

***

That afternoon, when Rey’s finished her debriefing with General Leia and the few Resistance leaders who hadn’t been killed over the last few days, she joins Finn for lunch in the mess hall. It’s a rather shabby excuse for a mess hall—this particular base hasn’t been in use since the days of His Exalted Emperor Palpatine, after all—but Finn finds that he likes it.

Finn was raised on ships and shuttles and bases, with people—soldiers—he’d never allowed himself to consider friends. Mealtime was hasty and the food bland and tasteless. It wasn’t time to socialize with friends. You ate and then you cleaned up and cleared out, and marched onward to your next assignment. Those who socialized or straggled behind were tossed out of the airlock as an example to their fellow ’troopers.

“Finn, you don’t slow down you’re gonna choke,” Poe says, through a mouthful of food. Crumbs cling to his lips and chin.

Finn looks up, sets down his fork, and swallows a mouthful of food. “What?”

“Take your time to _savor_ ,” Poe says, brushing the crumbs away from his face. He grins at Finn as he reaches across the table and plucks a piece of food off Finn’s plate.

“Lunch ends in fifteen minutes, Poe.” Finn slaps the food out of Poe’s hand and spears it on the end of his fork.

“So? They’re not gonna toss you out of the airlock if you go over…” Poe trails off. “They did that in the First Order, didn’t they?”

Finn nods. “Yup.”

Poe’s face darkens and the smile disappears off his face. “That isn’t gonna happen here, buddy. You can take as much time as you want. Kriff, take an hour if you want. Two hours.”

“ _Two hours_?” Finn gasps, dropping his fork. “I can’t possibly.”

Poe sits back and crosses his arms over his chest. “I insist.”

Finn rolls his eyes as he polishes off the last of his lunch. “Thanks, Poe. I’ll keep that in mind.”

***

That evening, Finn’s preparing for sleep—checking and then double-checking his blaster, setting the alarm on his chrono—when he hears the door to the bunker _whoosh_ open.

“Hey, pal. I got something I wanted to run by you.” Poe leans in the doorway, his hands resting on his hips.

Finn scoots over to make some space for Finn. It’s not quite time to turn in for the night, so the bunker is mostly empty.  

Poe settles next to Finn on his cot and toes off his boots. “I got all this space in my quarters,” he says, sliding a hand through his curls almost compulsively. Finn notes he’s not exactly looking him in the eye. “And I was wondering if you wanted to, uh… join me.”

Finn glances over at Poe. “Are you asking me to bunk with you?”

Finn feels the beginnings of hope fluttering in his chest like the wings of a porg and he tries valiantly to push it down. He looks down at his hands because if he looks at Poe he’s liable to say something out of line. Like _“Do you want to make out? I’m real good at it. I got a lot of practice in the barracks at night.”_

He doesn’t, though, because he’s not sure that’d go over well.

“Um, yeah,” Poe says, then his face goes pale. “Not like _that_.” He pauses. “Unless you _want_ that. But I totally don’t mean it that way.”

Finn tosses his head back and lets out a belly laugh. He hasn’t had one of those in… _Kriff_ , he can’t remember the last time he laughed like that. When he opens his eyes and wipes at the tears prickling the corners of his eyes, he notices that Poe is looking at him uncertainly.

Finn reaches out and squeezes Poe’s hand.

“I’d like that,” he says, still grinning. “And before you ask, I’m not just saying that to get out of the bunkers.”

Poe laughs too. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he says, squeezing back. “Speaking of… How’re you adjusting?”

“To the bunkers? To the Resistance?” Finn asks.

“All of it,” Poe says, running his thumb over Finn’s knuckles in slow, gentle circles.

“It’s been one day,” Finn says, with a one-shouldered shrug. “About how you’d expect.”

Poe nods, glancing down at their hands. “It’ll get easier, with time,” he says. “If you ever need to talk, though…”

“You’re ready and willing to lend an ear?” Finn finishes.

“Absolutely.” Poe turns and plants a warm kiss on Finn’s cheek.

Finn smiles. “Thank you.”

He leans in and brushes his lips lightly over Poe’s, their fingers still laced together.

Finn supposes Poe is right, that it’ll take time to adjust to his new life. All he’s really certain of right now is that he wants to do it with Poe’s hand clasped in his. The rest will come in its own good time.


End file.
